"Until 2009, I was somewhat of a skeptic about PTSD .... Is it just an excuse for … a free lunch? I wasn't convinced that it was something that was real," Harnden said Tuesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

Toby Harnden — author of the new book, "Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan" — was once skeptical that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder was a real illness for combat soldiers returning home.